Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice.

The assessment and placement of clients in therapeutic recreation programs based on need represents a fundamental process for the delivery of effective therapeutic recreation services. The selection, development, and use of assessment directly relate to accountability and the documentation of intervention efficacy. Despite the noted significance of the assessment process in therapeutic recreation, there is a continued need for assessment instruments that efficiently and accurately evaluate the abilities and needs of clients and facilitate the placement of clients into appropriate interventions.

This difficulty with assessment was recognized by Dunn 15 years ago and has yet to be resolved. Too often, assessment instruments are either selected because they already exist and are convenient, or are hastily developed to meet an individual agency's need, lacking in rigorous evaluation for validity and reliability. Another factor that hampers the development and selection of therapeutic recreation assessments is the lack of awareness of instruments and procedures being used across the country.

The Internet offers an opportunity to make assessment instruments and information -- and a method of sharing this information -- accessible among a large audience. The following discussion describes a preliminary conceptualization for a prototype of Internet protocols for therapeutic recreation assessment.

Expert Systems

An expert system is one type of technology that could aid in improving communication related to the enhancement of assessment instruments and implementation among researchers and practitioners, Expert systems, which offer an opportunity to blend theory and practice, are computer programs that begin with the knowledge of experts in the field. This knowledge is incorporated into a process that allows the system (computer program) to emulate human thinking, reasoning, and decision-making processes. The expert system essentially consists of the knowledge base of a profession. It also contains a set of rules, or "heuristics," which allow it to make inferences. When presented with a question or situation, the system is able to suggest management solutions or decisions about programming. It is called an expert system because it imitates the decisions an expert in the field would make. An expert system is suggested as a method of enhancing both the therapeutic recreation assessment process and the achievement of intervention outcomes.

Assessment Prototype Development

The first step in creating an expert system for therapeutic recreation is collecting knowledge from multiple experts, both practitioners and academics, and gaining an understanding of how they make programmatic decisions (Fig. 1). This includes their understanding of the purpose of assessment, assessment instruments, and program possibilities as well as an understanding of how they make decisions about which programs best suit clients' needs. Understanding how an expert makes decisions about clients' needs is the "heart" of an expert system.

[Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The second step involves including different assessment instruments in the system that allow practitioners to identify client needs, suggest desired outcomes, and select appropriate intervention programs. The ability of the system to link desired client outcomes with appropriate intervention programs is particularly important. This process represents the heuristics that are programmed into the system. Heuristics refers to a series of "if-then" statements that represent the thinking process practitioners use when making assessment and program-placement decisions. For example, if the desired outcome is the increased repertoire of leisure activity skills, then the solution offered by the system would be a list or menu of programs whose objectives emphasize the development of a variety of leisure activity skills.

The menu of suggested program interventions for each identified client need, a database of possible therapeutic recreation programs with corresponding program objectives, represents the third significant piece of the system. The expert system will utilize the set of rules to link the desired client outcomes with program objectives, and suggest a menu of programs that will allow the therapeutic recreation professional to place clients in appropriate programs based on their individual needs.

Using the Expert System

The parts described above make up the expert system's shell. The shell will be maintained on a computer server so that many people can access the same information. After the shell is created, it is necessary to display the information. The display is called an interface. Displays that are easy to use and require very little training are called "user-friendly." One of the advantages of using the Internet as an interface is that it is user-friendly, allowing the display and method of access to be standardized.

Technology offers accessibility that is unavailable to many practitioners to a cadre of experts. It allows mentorship between practitioners. It also allows the use of context-sensitive information instead of a generic situation such as those found in textbooks and manuals. An expert system can be used by those who are less expert or less confident of their understanding of theory, and can also be used as a "second opinion" to support decisions or provide substantiation of treatment to third parties. An expert system, by nature of its inferential reasoning capability, provides an opportunity to incorporate theory into practice.

An Invitation for Discussion

This manuscript represents a preliminary outline of an expert system prototype for use in therapeutic recreation. As we continue to design the physical elements of the system, we encourage all interested parties to provide feedback on the appropriateness, applicability, structure, and accessibility of the system. Only by engaging a variety of voices in the development of the prototype will we truly be able to enhance the accountability of the profession of therapeutic recreation.

References are available from the authors upon request.

Cynthia J. Wachter, an assistant professor of therapeutic recreation.

Rhonda L. Bonifield, an assistant professor of commercial recreation and tourism, both at Illinois State University, offers the perfect opportunity for sharing this information (p. 82).

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